Detachable bathtub leg



R. H; HEBERL|NG. DETACHABLE BATI-IITUB LEG. APPLICATION FIlED NOV. 22. 192i.

PatentedSep t. 19, 1922 TEA-HEB.

Patented sea. 19, 1922.

RALPH H. HEIBERLINQ,,OF NEW YoRK, N. Y., Assrenon TO nromvroivn RADIATOR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE. v 1

DETACHABLE BATHTUB LEG.

Application filed em e 22, 1921".v 'SerialNo. 516,921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH .H. HEBER- LING, a citizen of the United States, and

resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvethe following is a specification.

The invention relates in general to an improved form of demounta-ble support and specifically relates to an improved. means =ments inDetachable Bathtub Legs, of which for attaching a leg or foot to a bath tub.

In bath tub constructions it is usual to have the bottom portion round upwardly into the side portion and it is at thisrounded place where it is usually desired to position the supporting leg or legs. Largely for aesthetic reasons it, is required in this art that the front portion of the supporting leg extend upwardly and engage the curved portion of the tub'so as to present,

in so far as is possible, a continuous curve from the sidefof the tub down the front face of the leg. Due to manufacturing variations in the different tubs and legs, it has been found difiicult heretofore to provide a snug engagement between the upper edge or hearing flange of the leg and the tub unless resort be made to some screw connecthe device has been in use for awhile. Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a simple form of construction which will securely fasten the leg in position and at the same time permit the ready removal of the leg even though there be some rust present.

I attain this object by providing asimple wedging construction which will actl simul- -ta'ne'0usly in two capacities, first to secure the leg to the tub by a horizontal movement, and, secondly, to move the bearing flange upwardly into 'firm bearing engagement with the rounded underside of the tub. 'More specifically defined the invention contemplates the-useofzalegwith a horizontally extending tenon-which engages at p zprovlde a bearing flange 20 conforming in its free end the underside of the tub and which tenon intermediate. its length coacts with a pair of lugs depending vfrom the swing the leg bodily about the free end of the tenon, and thus moves the upper edge- 'or hearing flange of the leg vinto firm and even a spring tight engagement with the tub. I t m Various. other ,objects and advantages of the, invention will bein partobvious from ,an inspection of the. accompanyingdraw- 'ngs and in part will be more fully set forth in the 'followin'gpparticulardescriptlon of one form, ofmechani'smembodying lmy inventiom-and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination ofparts hereinafter set forth and; claimed.

Referring to the accompanying draw- In the following, description and in the claims, parts will be identifiedby specific names for, convenience of expression but theya're intended to' be as generic in their application tosimilar parts as the. art will permit. p

In the drawings there is shown a portionno'fajbath tub of conventional design I and whichincludes a substantially flat bot- ,tom portion 10 and a side portion 11 Icon- .nectedbyaa flat curved portion'12. [The lit is" av vertical, sectional view taken through a, preferred embodimentofbottom portion 10 adjacent the curved portio1r12 is slightly thickenedv as indicated 3 at 13 so as,t o strengthen the portion of the, bottom which receives theleg. jThis thick ened portion is provided with a pair of transversely spaced apart.lug's-14 and 15. Thespace between the lugs forms a dovetail'tenon receiving recess l6, the outer end 17 beingof relatively greater width than the inner end '18.,

The leg is provided with a curved up-v I standing front portion- 19, the upper edge of which lis curved from side to side to configuration to the contour of the portion of the tub designed to be engaged thereby. The leg includes a substantially horizontally disposed tenon 21 extending integrally from the front wall 19 and reducing in width when viewed in plan, as shown in Figure 2 from the said wall 19 to the free end 22. The underside of the tenon is provided with a transversely extending dove tail groove 24: with at least the outer portion undercut, as shown at 25. Similarly the rear sides of the lugs i l and 15 are undercut to provide shoulders in transverse alignment as shown at 26. The portion to the rear of the undercut shoulders coact with the slot 24 to form a key receiving passageway extending across the lugs and tenon. A tapered pin 27, frusto-conical in cross-section as shown in Figure 1, is driven between the undercut shoulders 26 and the undercut shoulder 25. V

In operation it will be understood that the leg is disposed in position with the tenon forced in between the depending lugs 1% and 15, which thusholds the tenon against horizontal movement. The tenon is forced to the right of the showing in Figure 2 until the free edge 22 is in firm bearing engagement with the underside of the thickened portion 13 of the bottom. The pin is then forcefully driven'into position with the pin extending across both of the lugs. This movement of the pin will have a two fold action. In the first place, the tenon willbe forced to the right of the showing in Figure 2, thus wedging the tenon in between the lugs. At the same time the frusto-conical shape of the pin will cause the leg as a' whole, to swing bodily about the line of contact at 22 thus forcing the bearing flange 20 into snug engagement with the curved underside of the tub. It will be also appreciated that as the parts are made of metal which have at least some small amount of spring, the bearing flange 20 will engage the tub irrespective of any slight irregularity in the contacting faces. The effect will also be to slightly spring the tenon so that the rear portion is in contact along the bottom of the tub for a material distance as indicated at 28. Theouter portion of the tenon and the upper portion of the front .of the leg are in spaced relation to the tub thus giving the bearing flange sufficient spring to adjust itself to the tub. There is thus provided, in effect, a two-point contact between the tub and the leg so that the weight of the tub is received by a substantial Y-construction of leg. The leg is therefore purposely made of some material thickness at the crotch portion 29 thus disposing metal where'it'is mostly needed.

As the pin is'strictly a straight driven wedge, it is possible to drive the same into position simply by a hammering action and,

conversely, the pin can be displaced simply by driving in the opposite direction. Even though there be a tendency of the parts to rust at the connection this will not materially affect the loosening of the pin. It is place, need no further attention, and in this way the disclosure features conservation in time and effort. As the'bottom of the tub has been thickened to receive the foot there is provided sufficient strength at this place to resist anytendency of the wedge cracking the enamel on the inside of the tub.

By means Of'a device of this character'it is possible to form the parts simply by forming the lugs integrally in the act of'casting the tub, and similarly the leg can be formed as a simple casting with a conventional form of tapered pin as the locking'key.

While I have shown and described, and have pointed out in the annexed claims, certain novel features of my invention, it will be understood that various omissions, sub

stitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a bath tub having a thickened bottom portion and a side curving upwardly therefrom, said thickened portion having a pair of spaced apart lugs dependingtherefrom, a supporting leg including a curved faceprovided with a tenon projecting horizontally therefrom and adaptedto fit between the lugs with a dove-tail tenon connection therebetween, the lugs and the tenon being each cut away transversely of the length of the tenon to provide undercut shoulders coacting to form a dove-tail keyway with its wider side adjacent said bath tub and a tapering key fitted in said key way and acting'to force the leg and tenon into engagement with the thickened'portion of the tub and to force the upper edge of the curved face horizontally against the curved face of the bath tub as the key is driven into position. 1

2. In a device of theclass described, the combination of a member; to be supported, a leg having a front portion with its upper edge constituting a bearing flangeadapted to be forced into engagement with the member and having a horizontally extending the underside of said member and'wedging means between the front portion of the leg and the free end of the tenon for swinging the leg as a whole about the free end of the tenon as a pivot and thus force the upper edge into pressing engagement with the member.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a bath tub, a metallic leg having a two-point engagement with the underside of the tub and separated therefrom intermediate these points, wedging means including a tapered key between the points for securing the leg in place and tending to spring the ortion of the leg be 15 tween the points in t c direction towards the tub thereby to secure the two points of the leg in pressing engagement with the underside of thetub.

Signed at New York city, in the county 20 of New York and State of New York this 18th day of November, A. D. 1921.

RALPH H. HEBERLING. 

